If California schools want a piece of $4.2 million in new federal education grants, they'll have to make some changes. Legislation by state Sen. Gloria Romero (D-Los Angeles) and several coauthors would pave the way for those changes, but the bill is so awkwardly constructed at this point, with so many unnecessary and possibly harmful additions, that it doesn't deserve the fast-track passage Romero is seeking. The bill moves in the right direction in enacting common-sense reforms that were outlined by U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan as requirements for states that want to compete for Race to the Top grants.

MOORESVILLE, N.C. - President Obama on Thursday pledged to bring high-speed Internet to nearly all students in their classrooms within five years, calling on the Federal Communications Commission to expand an existing initiative that will help school systems cover the cost. Speaking to students at Mooresville Middle School, Obama argued that such access would improve learning opportunities for students all over the country. “We can't be stuck in the 19th century when we're living in a 20th-century economy,” he said.

The Education Department on Thursday issued regulations governing for-profit colleges, a rapidly expanding education sector that has been criticized in Congress for allegedly providing students with poor educations while saddling them with excessive debt. Issued after a year of negotiations, the new regulations are intended to improve the Education Department's ability to monitor the institutions, including compensation for recruiters, and the ability to take action against schools that engage in deceptive advertising and marketing.

Half an hour into the Fox News-Google News debate, Rick Perry and Mitt Romney finally had their first skirmish - and to no one's surprise, it came over Social Security. Perry again tried to reassure current Social Security beneficiaries and those who soon would be eligible that they had nothing to worry about. And he accused Romney of distorting his past statements on the issue and suggesting he would like states to assume responsibility for the program. “Not the first time Mitt's been wrong on some issue,” Perry said.

California's public schools, which are laying off thousands of teachers and planning for shortened academic years, received the painful news Thursday that they will not get a federal Race to the Top grant in the first round of funding. The decision isn't surprising, though. The legislation that formed the backbone of the state's application lacked coherence and a real commitment to improving conditions at the lowest-performing schools. We don't yet know why U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan turned down California's application.

Karl Rove, architect of George W. Bush's presidential victories, is steeped in the business of political fundraising. He co-founded one of the major "super-PACs," American Crossroads, which will try to cut into President Obama's fundraising advantage in the 2012 election. For Rove, the Obama campaign is both a target and a rival - and he doesn't like one of the methods it is using to raise campaign money. Making full use of the power of incumbency, the Obama campaign has set up a "speaker series" in which people pay $5,000 to hear closed-door speeches delivered by administration officials, White House alumni -- even celebrities who are partial to Obama.

Re "Education secretary says students in peril," May 23 So U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan believes that California must get serious about his favored reform projects before we can expect any more help? That's like saying the Titanic needed a better orchestra. Projected class sizes of 40-plus students per class next year in L.A. Unified make ideas such as merit pay, reconstituting "failing" schools and "small learning communities" to be spectacularly beside the point. Laying off thousands of teachers will render permanent damage to education in California.